Networks, such as telecommunication networks, data transfer networks (including the Internet), and the like, are ubiquitous and increasingly relied upon in conducting a wide variety of activities. Businesses that maintain and operate these networks need to accurately analyze network operation, and need tools to plan for network growth. The ability to abstract the network into a virtual network environment such as a database, simulate traffic flows through the network, and analyze many aspects of the network's operation, allows network administrators to optimize existing networks, plan for future growth, increase reliability by simulating network failures, analyze network security, and ensure conformance with organizational policies and other rules regarding network operation.
Conventional network simulation includes creating a virtual network and simulating traffic flows through the virtual network according to predetermined routing protocols, to populate the virtual network nodes with routing and forwarding information such as forwarding tables. A virtual network is a data structure comprising virtual features (nodes and links) that represent corresponding features in a physical network. The physical network features may exist in an actual network, or, in the case of “what if” simulations such as planning for network growth, the virtual network may include virtual features that do not have an existing counterpart in an actual network. In either case, traffic flows may be simulated through the virtual network, and the simulated behavior monitored and analyzed.
To achieve high fidelity simulations, wherein simulated traffic behavior closely matches traffic behavior on an actual, physical network, the routing and forwarding information generated through the simulation should closely match that maintained at corresponding nodes in the physical network. However, if the virtual network is incomplete with respect to topology or configuration, the simulation may not have enough data to create accurate forwarding tables. Additionally, equipment vendors often create protocol behaviors that are not described in the standards for a particular protocol, in response to requests from their customers, or to differentiate their products in the marketplace. These deviations from the standard protocol may not be reflected in the simulation, which models the standards. Accordingly, the forwarding tables generated through the simulation may differ significantly from those that are created in the actual, physical network.